Auburn Football: Game-by-game predictions for Tigers in 2018
The Volunteers didn’t necessarily land their first choice of head coaching candidate but the former elementary school teacher turned SEC head coach knows what it takes to build a winner. Jeremy Pruitt got the nod to head up the Vols and while I predict they will improve they’re still too void of talent to challenge the Tigers for four quarters.
Related Story. 2018 Tennessee Volunteers team preview. light
The Auburn defense will feast on a mediocre Keller Chryst who transferred in from Stanford. The Volunteers finished 2017 ranked 107th in the S&P+ and enter 2018 as the 79th-ranked program in the nation. The Vols only return four starters from a bad offense so I’m not sure if that’s good or bad for Pruitt’s new coordinator Tyson Helton.
Coach Steele won’t have much to worry about from the Tennessee offense and Coach Malzahn’s offense will still be too fast and experienced to be stopped by the 68th-ranked defense per the S&P+.
I suspect the defense will be better right away under a national champion caliber coordinator like Coach Pruitt, who fielded elite defenses at Florida State and Alabama. Once the talent catches up to the rest of the SEC, we’ll see his scheme pay off but until then they’re just another win on the Auburn schedule. With only six returning starters the Vols are inexperienced and lack skill.